Every October, consumer brands create pink versions and gift sets of their best-selling products, slap a pink ribbon on the packaging, and promise that a portion of their proceeds will be donated to a breast cancer awareness effort. Yes, they might be giving back in some small way, but the general pink-washing of products — like fracking company Baker Hughes’ pink drill bits — don’t necessarily support survivors or help find a cure for the disease. Instead, they just provide good PR and boosts sales while the actual charitable contributions quite minimal.The good news is that some brands actually live up to their promises — and even do more than simply donate a portion of their proceeds. Check out four beauty brands that give back to breast cancer survivors during BCA month.
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CV Skinlabs Founder Britta Aragon started CV Skinlabs after her personal battle with Hodgkins disease and her father’s battle with cancer to create products sensitive enough for anyone undergoing chemotherapy. They’re all free of harsh ingredients like detergents, fragrances and dyes and extremely moisturizing and nourishing, so survivors with sensitive or chronically dry skin from treatment side effects can use them confidently.For Breast Cancer Awareness month, CV Skinlabs is offering a gift set that not only includes some of their ultra-moisturizing and soothing products, but also a copy of Aragon’s Book, When Cancer Hits: Your Complete Guide to Taking Care of YOU Through Treatment, and a Health Journeys Meditation CD — tools that can help survivors heal both mentally and physically. Plus, 20 percent of sales will be donated to the Breast Cancer Fund.CV Skinlabs Gift Box, $185
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AvonFor every Avon Anew Vitale Day Cream and Night Cream sold this month, the company donates $5 (which is approximately 18 percent of the price, so presumably a higher percentage of the profit) to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. The Crusade, started in 1992, makes Avon the leading corporate supporter of BCA globally, and has played an important part in organizing breast cancer forums and research summits. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a series of 39-mile weekend-long fundraising events with thousands of participants, visits eight cities each year to raise money and awareness for the disease.Avon Anew Vitale Day Cream, $28 and Avon Anew Vitale Night Cream, $28
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Ramy Beauty TherapyRamy Gafni, celebrity makeup artist, brow expert, and founder of Ramy Beauty Therapy, is also a cancer survivor who realizes the healing power makeup can have — he even wrote a book about it: Ramy Gafni’s Beauty Therapy: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Great While Living with Cancer.During the month of October, 80 percent of sales from Hint of a Cure face gloss will go to Young Survival Coalition, an international organization that offers resources and support for women 40 and younger who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.Hint of a Cure…Face Gloss for Eyes, Cheeks, Lips!, $19
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Innovative SkincareCo-founders Bryan Johns and Alec Call have a life goal: to find a cure for breast cancer by 2020. Each October, they donate 100 percent of the profits from sales of iS Clinical Poly-Vitamin Serum to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, but the rest of the year, run their Cancer Care program to provide skincare solutions for patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. They break down specific protocols for treatment-compromised skin, and provide detailed information on which products to use, when and why. They also provide clinical information and in-depth explanations of skin reactions common when going through chemo or radiation treatment.iS Clinical Poly-Vitamin Serum, $98
